The present invention relates generally to a pest control and/or detection system and, more particularly, to a pest control and/or detection system with remote monitoring capability.
Pests can cause damage to raw materials, structures, crops, food, livestock, and other human concerns. Conventional pest control apparatuses often facilitate locating, detecting, deterring, and/or eradicating pests by deploying an attractant (or bait) that the pests are inclined to chew for purposes of collection and/or consumption.
Many conventional pest control apparatuses must be physically inspected (e.g., manually disassembled) to visually determine whether pests are present, and to what extent, the pests are chewing (or otherwise depleting) the bait. For example, in current termite monitoring and control systems, a bait matrix (or matrices) is typically inserted into a physical station housing that is itself inserted into a cavity in the ground. During foraging, termites searching for food encounter the stations, enter the interior of the station housings and begin feeding on the consumable bait matrix or matrices. The bait typically consists of non-toxic materials, or alternatively a mixture of non-toxic and toxic materials (i.e., a pesticide active ingredient).
To determine if termites are present in the stations and actively feeding on the bait matrix, a technician generally must open the station and in some instances remove and visually inspect the bait matrix. Prior to opening the station, the technician is unaware of and to what extent feeding has occurred. Such an inspection process can be time-consuming for the technician, and can be disruptive to the site at which the stations are deployed. In some instances, this disruption can cause termites to leave the station before a toxic material can be placed within the station. Some weaknesses of the existing pest control apparatuses or systems may include, but are not limited to, false indication of the presence or absence of pests, higher labor costs, need for expensive detection equipment, poor reliability, use of cumbersome equipment, incompatibility with other technologies, and incomplete information for service providers.
There is a need, therefore, for a pest control and/or detection system which accurately and effectively allows the bait matrix of a station to be monitored from the exterior of the station, and in particular from a location remote from the site of the station. Greater reliability and/or accuracy, decreased costs (including but not limited to labor and/or energy), objective more consistent monitoring, continual monitoring combined with an option for constant access, increased eco-friendliness by limiting the presence of toxicants in the environment, automated data collection and analysis, proactive monitoring and flexible treatment options when pests are detected. In addition, it is advantageous to have a pest control and/or detection system that does not require the actual consumption of the bait matrix but is effective based on either the displacement of the bait matrix and/or the consumption of the bait matrix.